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2004 ROCKY MOUNTAIN RAGTIME
FESTIVAL, JULY 15-19
LOOK WHAT'S COMING YOUR WAY!
Reaffirming our commitment to quality and diverse programming, the 2004 Rocky Mountain Ragtime Festival will again be held at Boulder's Unity Church, one of the finest concert venues anywhere, with performances in the great hall upstairs and symposia and workshops in the lecture hall downstairs. You'll find everything you need, including the Ragtime Store, under one roof!
The Bösendorfer and Schimmel concert pianos will again be featured by agreement with Chris Finger Pianos of Niwot, Colorado, who have furnished the Festival with fine pianos for the past eleven years. In securing top performers to play these magnificent instruments, the Festival offers programming to please the wide-ranging tastes of today's audiences.
The Festival will present concerts and symposia featuring five areas of music: Classic Ragtime, Folk Ragtime, Creole Music, New Ragtime and Terra Verde music. In the spirit of Innovation within Tradition, the Festival has carefully chosen performers who excel in both the old and the new music.
For Classic Ragtime, we are thrilled that Max Morath is bringing his one-man show to Boulder for a rare festival appearance. A Colorado native, Max has perhaps done more to promote ragtime than any other performer alive today. Scott Kirby, the Festival's Musical Director and perhaps today’s best interpreter of Joplin, will play the works of Joplin, Scott and Lamb, as will Morten Gunnar Larsen, who is making his third festival appearance. Expect some dynamic duo piano artistry from them—and from others, too!
For Folk Ragtime, Trebor Tichenor and Jack Rummel will present authentic renditions by the noted Folk Ragtime pioneers along with many Folk-inspired rags of their own. Look for David Thomas Roberts and Brian Keenan to add more folk rags!
New to the Festival is Morris Palter, a master of the xylophone, who will perform familiar rags as well as the rare xylophone rags of George Hamilton Green. Also in a premiere festival appearance will be The Skirtlifters, a string band from Arkansas featuring banjoist Clarke Buehling, that will bring their special brand of early ragtime to Boulder.
For fans of Creole Music, the works of Nazareth, Gottschalk, composers of the Caribbean and South America and many original compositions will be featured by Frank French, as well as by Brian Keenan, Scott Kirby, and David Thomas Roberts.
There will be no shortage of New Ragtime, as virtually all of our performers program it and most compose it, too. Terra Verde, reflecting the progressive transformation of New World music, will be played by Frank French, Brian Keenan, Scott Kirby and David Thomas Roberts. This revolutionary art form is being embraced by an ever-growing eclectic and reflective music-listening public who recognize this Festival as the premier setting for this music as well as for all types of rag
NEW FOR 2004: DANCING HAS RETURNED TO THE FESTIVAL!! This year we have brought back Dancing to the festival due to popular request. Our New Hotel has a beautiful ballroom, and we are bringing back the Mont Alto Ragtime & Tango Orchestra as our live dance orchestra. We will be swinging all Sunday afternoon. The ballroom has plenty of room for the dancers and also for those of you who like to listen and watch.
The Sunday Brunch is being held in the Ballroom as well so that we can (finally!!) accommodate many more who want to experience this RMRF tradition. This year you will be thrilled to enjoy an expanded and delicious hot brunch buffet while listening to the strains of Classic Ragtime as performed by a variety of our festival performers.